frosty winter decor tutorial{from the v spot}

by @according2kelly on November 28, 2012

for the entire month of november we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season.

& the holidays are coming a wee bit earlier for a few lucky readers, thanks to our three amazing giveaways. be sure to head over to today’s featured blogger {The V Spot} for a chance to win a silhouette portrait, decoart paints & stencils, and michael’s gift card.

so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects.

today, our featured blogger is the vivienne of The V Spot. vivienne writes…

Hello! I’m Vivienne from The V Spot, a little blog where I share crafts, recipes, and funny stories about my family. I love making beautiful things on a budget, and today I am going to show you how to make a holiday craft using one of my very favorite FREE decor items, sticks!

Who doesn’t love to decorate for Christmas? (And who wants to break the bank on their decor?) No one I know! So here’s an easy way to turn found sticks and branches into frosty winter decor.

Sure, you could go to the craft store or the florist and pick up some faux icy floral picks and branches, but why buy them (and store them all year) when you can make your own for pennies…?

Here’s what you’ll need:

sticks and branches

white spray paint (cheap-o is fine-o)

spray adhesive

epsom salt (You can buy in any pharmacy or the health aisle in the grocery store)

coarse white glitter

fine iridescent glitter

When getting the salt be sure to use epsom, which looks like icy little crystals, as opposed to rock salt, which looks like, well… rocks.

Spray your branches with white paint.

When dry, spray a coat of adhesive onto the branches, then move them over an old cookie sheet and sprinkle the epsom salts onto them.

I do this over the cookie sheet so I can reuse the salt that doesn’t stick.

No need for comments about the baked on grody-ness of the cookie sheet… that’s why it’s used for crafting now. 🙂

Scoop up any extra salt and put it back into the container.

Move the branches away from the cookie sheet and spray with adhesive again. Move them back over the sheet and sprinkle with the coarse glitter.

Repeat the process with the fine glitter.

When dry you have some pretty, sparkly, frosty sticks. That were practically FREE!

There are so many uses for them. They look great alone in a vase, or with smaller ones tucked into your Christmas tree or used in a wreath…

The only caveat: since salt melts if it gets wet… this is not a good option for use outdoors unless it’s in a covered area..

about vivienne: I write The V Spot Blog. I am a mom, a wife, a DIYer, a crafter and smart-alleck. If Erma Bombeck & MacGyver had a love child, that kid might be a lot like me.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #bakecraftsew.